An Online Giving State of Mind
Getting started with a basic online giving program
By Tara Mahady

I don't know about you, but I am a little overwhelmed with all the information there is out there on online giving. We all hear we should move into the world of online giving, but where in the world to start?! With my experience as a development professional (and a former member of the Campagne Associates staff) I've had a lot of exposure to all the theories and processes for online giving that are out there. Even with that experience, all the information is hard to filter through. And, figuring out how to get started is even worse.

I finally sat down, reviewed all the books, white papers, and articles out there, put together a basic plan for implementing a new online giving program, and thought I'd share it with you. Hopefully it'll give you a place to start!

1. Great expectations
2. Beginning
3. The website
4. Collecting email addresses
5. Driving people to your website
6. Making the ask
7. Is it working?
8. Some final thoughts
9. For more information

Great expectations

The main thing that organizations just starting out with online giving have to remember is that you can't expect to raise a ton of money at first or bring in large numbers of new donors. It just can't happen. An online giving program is much more than just placing a 'Donate Now' button on your website. A number of my fellow board members were hot on the idea of starting to accept online donations. They honestly believed that we could raise thousands of dollars. I've had to help them understand that starting an online giving program is as much about relationship building and branding as it is about raising money. Sure, in the end, if you build relationships online, you're going to raise more money online, but the money comes after the relationship building. It's a long-term process, which requires a strong, integrated plan that may span many months but will pay off for years.

Beginning

As with anything, you have to understand your audience and have a plan to reach them. You should be asking yourself, who are my constituents and donors? Why are they connected to my organization? What do they care about? Do my constituents and donors use the Internet and email? What kind of information will they be looking for online? Why do they want to contribute? What will compel them to give? What will compel them to give online? What might stop them? What do they want from you? How well do you know them? Do you have a relationship with them?

Online giving is really only a portion of your overall relationship- and community-building effort. It should dovetail with, and complement all of your other marketing and fundraising efforts. With that being said, your online efforts are a low-cost, and effective way to build relationships with your donors, bring new people into your organization's world, grow your email list, and increase your visibility. They will allow you to leverage the information you have about your donors and enhance it. You'll be able to easily stay connected to your strongest supporters, who, in all honesty, probably want to hear from you more often, including via email. I am a strong supporter of a few organizations, and I look forward to getting their newsletters, action alerts, and updates. I wouldn't have given them my email address if I didn't want to hear from them!

The following components will outline a basic way to get started with online fundraising. The first thing you'll have to do is create, or take a look at your existing website. Then, you'll have to start collecting email addresses and driving people to your website. Once they are there, you have to warm them to your cause and ask them to for their contribution. Once you have everything under way, you need to measure your success, see what's working, and then improve on that to move forward.

The website

As many of us know, websites can range from basic brochures to complex, information-driven sites like Amazon's. You don't have to have a sophisticated site in order to please your constituents and keeping them coming back. Basically, all you have to do with your website is build trust, provide relevant and current content and resources, give folks something to do, make the site easy and intuitive to use, and give them a reason to come back. Sure, we'd all love to be able to have a website like American Red Cross, Greenpeace, or Amazon (just a few of the best sites I've seen), but let's be realistic. A lot of us simply don't have the resources. That's okay. With a well thought out site, you can accomplish your goals, which will eventually take you to the next level.

Be trustworthy

There are many ways to help your website visitors to trust you. First, develop and post a privacy policy. Make it clear to your constituents how any information they provide to you will be used and then stick to that no matter what. Next, make sure your site reflects who you are and what you do clearly and accurately. Avoid jargon that makes you feel unapproachable or exclusive. Be accessible and concise. If a person feels like they can easily relate to you (or your site), they will trust you more. Finally, make sure that you thoroughly evaluate any links or outside resources you provide. It is also user-unfriendly to include links that aren't current, so be prepared to endorse them. Unfortunately, even though these links may take you to another site, people will still connect that site with your organization. Make sure you want that connection in their mind.

Provide relevant and current content and resources

The Internet is all about information, and that's why people go to there. You have a unique body of information that no one else can provide for your organization. Think about your organization's unique perspective on the world, and all the information you have to share with people. Organize that into relevant and interesting content areas. Write articles, information briefs, and opinion columns. Keep all that information up to date and keep adding! But, don't add just for the sake of adding. People's attention spans are limited and they won't have the patience to wade through superfluous stuff. They come to you for a reason – give them what they are looking for.

As an expert in your area, you also can provide your visitors with excellent resources. You know the go-to sites, people, and organizations that will help them understand the issues in an even deeper way, help them solve a problem, or answer questions you can't. Your constituents will be thankful that you added to their knowledge and understanding.

Give people something to do

People like interactivity on the web. They want to feel like they are connecting with a real person and that they have some sort of say in whatever your particular cause happens to be. If they have something to do on your site, they'll feel like they are a part of your community. Some things people can do on your site:

• Fill out surveys;
• Sign up for an email newsletter;
• Sign up for action alerts (you don't have to have fancy software (wouldn't it be nice!) to do this) at my organization we just send out emails with links to our representatives and senators. It isn't the best option – but it works!
• Send information to their friends.

Make the site easy and intuitive to use

Make it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for. Speak in their language and anticipate how they will look for information on your site. Keep your messaging clear and consistent. If you want to think a little more complexly, try to segment your site by the kinds of people who visit it. Also, if you refer to your site in a direct mail piece or some other media, be sure the information you mention is quick and easy to find – or there at all! We've announced an event before, and forgotten to put it on our website. Big oops!

Keep people coming back

There are many ways to entice people back to your site. Keep a current event listing of things happening that relate to your issues. Have a 'personality' at your organization write a monthly opinion column. Maintain an up-to-date news corner that is an easy place for people to come for the latest news about your cause or issues related to your cause. Post responses to surveys.
Putting these basic principles to work on your website is a great place to start, or re-evaluate. Even if you rely on volunteer help to maintain your website, you can still do these simple things to make it relevant to your constituents and donors. As you grow, you'll be able to make your website more and more advanced. There are a ton of resources out there that can help you do just that!

Collecting email addresses

A key factor in your online giving success will be your email address base. Even as we guard against Spam and unsolicited emails, people still find value in email and are willing to communicate and receive information that way. In fact, a lot of people prefer that kind of communication. Do not be afraid to ask for people's email addresses every chance you get, but make sure to tell them why you want it. You know that you are not going to violate their trust, and you can assure them of that when you ask for their email. Here are a few ways to gather email addresses:

• Offer an email newsletter with important information relating to your mission.
• Offer action alerts.
• Include email address on everything you do – solicitation letters, event notices (they could receive their event notices via email!), membership sign up, volunteer sign up, at event sign ins, etc.
• Have petitions to sign and ask for email addresses.

Driving people to your website

People will not remember to visit your site on their own, so you will have to develop a relationship in which you have permission to remind them. This is an ongoing process – a process of real relationship building. When people give you their email addresses they are saying that they want to be in a relationship with you and it's your job to stay in touch with them. By doing so, you'll be able to bring people back to your site over and over again. All too often, organizations will let their relationships with their online constituents lag, when in reality they should be treating them just the same way they would be treating their donors and constituents off line. Here are some ways you can use email addresses to drive people to your website:

• Write a monthly email newsletter that links to full articles on your website.
• Send monthly event notices.
• Send action alerts.
• Offer breaking news flashes that alert people when current events occur that they would want to know about – link to your site for full details.

Besides using email to get people to your site, I'm sure you have many other opportunities to pique people's curiosity and entice them your way. For example:

• At events, always mention your website and everything it has to offer.
• In press releases, refer to your site for more information.
• In your major donor packets, include a brief 'bio' of your website and what it can offer them.
• Profile a section of your website in your annual report.
• At acquisition events, offer articles that you have on your website and explain that there's more where that came from.
• In any advertising that you do – always drive people to your website for more info.
• Get the idea?

Making the ask

It is easier than ever for organizations to offer their donors the opportunity to give online. There are many options when it comes to offering a donation page on your website. Campagne Associates offers a simple and affordable service called WebDonations that allows you to create a page that matches your site and accepts credit card donations. It's so easy to use that pretty much anyone can set it up. But that's the technological side of things.

There are a few reasons and ways people will give online. They will visit your site and be compelled to give. They will receive a direct mail piece and go to your website to give. They'll receive your email newsletter, which will ask them to contribute, you will link to your site, and they'll give. You'll send out an actual email solicitation that makes a case of urgent need, and people will give. All of these options depend entirely on the relationship you have built with the donor. They will not give online out of the clear blue (at least not usually), and you have to have a relationship in place, and some time under your belt before they will want to give.

As for how to make the actual ask on your site, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Make your giving opportunities easy to see.
• Don't be afraid to ask in multiple places – link to your donation page from different locations on your website. One section for giving isn't likely to be visited often.
• Link your 'ask' to the content of the page. If the donor is reading an article on the importance of spaying and neutering your pets, ask for donations to the Spay and Neuter Fund. Make sure you can differentiate gifts – give your donors opportunities to specify the funds to which they want to donate.
• If you have a planned giving program, include information on how to make a planned gift on your site.

Is it working?

As with anything, you'll need to evaluate your progress over time. Give yourself a baseline before you embark on this online giving venture. How many people currently visit your site a month? How many email addresses do you have? What kind of information are people asking for the most? What pages do they visit most often?

As you implement your online giving program in its entirety, keep track of these numbers and answers. See where and when you are able to collect the most email addresses. Do your page hits increase? Which pages? Do people respond to your action alerts? Do they fill out your surveys? Are people making contributions online? Why? Build on your successes!

Some final thoughts

I have barely scratched the surface of a huge amount of information out there on online giving. I just wanted to condense some of what I've learned into a foundation from which to get started. Online giving holds much promise. Despite the failures of so many dot coms, people still use the Internet, and especially email. You can build a successful online giving program that will raise money and awareness for your organization. But it is only a small piece of your fundraising puzzle. The act of giving online is no different than writing a check to an organization, that's not what makes online giving different. It is the online cultivation that leads to that gift that is the true art of online giving. Online giving isn't so much a process, but a state of mind. With a plan in place, some time, and some relatively inexpensive services, you can enter into that world today!

Where to find more information

Here is some of the best information I found on the subject:

Michael Gilbert is a wonderful resource for anything related to nonprofits and the Internet.
DonorDigital.com is a San Francisco consulting company that offers some great articles on their website.
npadvisors.com is an online marketing site for nonprofit marketers by nonprofit marketers.
ephilanthropy.org is dedicated to the ethical use of the Internet in fundraising.

If you want an exhaustive look at every aspect of online fundraising, you can find it all in one book, 'Fundraising on the Internet.' It is put out by the ephilanthropyfoundation.org and is edited by the top gurus in the field of online fundraising.

Tara Mahady is Development Director for a statewide, grassroots,
legislative and electoral women’s rights organization